About the Department of Anthropology

2018 DDHR Conference

“Transitions: Crisis, Uncertainty, Opportunity”

February 9 – 11, 2018

The human experience is filled with periods of transition. Life-stage rituals, prolonged wars, forced migrations, paradigm shifts, global climate, and urban development— in all of these processes transitions are the constant— they can last for mere moments or span years, decades, or generations. Transitions associated with disasters, displacement, and human rights are particularly important whether they impact local communities or entire societies. Moments of transition bring about crisis, uncertainty, and even opportunity. What factors shape whether a transition is a crisis or an opportunity, and in whose eyes? What moments or processes impact these outcomes? How do individual lived experiences of uncertainty intersect with larger social scales and vice versa? What strategies can be employed for engagement and how can these strategies be communicated to those confronting periods of transition?

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville issues a call for papers for its third conference on Disasters, Displacement, and Human Rights (DDHR). The 2018 theme is “Transitions: Crisis, Uncertainty, Opportunity.” This conference is open to all disciplines, approaches, methods, and concepts within the broad realm of disasters, displacements, and human rights. As in past years, we invite submissions and participation from researchers, practitioners, and students. Contributions from international scholars and papers coming from inter-, intra-, trans-, or multidisciplinary backgrounds are particularly welcome. We also encourage individuals of affected communities, especially those who have worked with researchers, to participate in the 2018 conference.

Public outreach and engaged research is a special sub-focus for the 2018 DDHR Conference. The conference committee is sponsoring an expert panel on communicating with the public and a special workshop led by Dr. Sarah Kendzior on writing about complex research for a public audience. We welcome panels and individual papers and posters on public outreach and engaged research. Conference attendees are encouraged to consider effective and innovative ways to communicate their research findings and/or experiences as practitioners to the public in addition to making their work accessible/useful to the individuals and communities to which their work is dedicated.

Abstract submissions of no more than 250 words are invited for individual paper and poster presentations. We also invite abstracts for thematic panel submissions and roundtables, which should include a 250-word abstract for the panel or roundtable theme and the names of the participants with titles and brief (100 word) descriptions of presentations.